IMHO, the core of creativity is recognition/application of abundance.  It seems that in this vast mess of energy/matter that winks in and out of existence, there are more than enough available resources.  Scarcity-based fear is not the solution; the spirit of creativity is validated when we harness this ever-present energy in increasingly refined, increasingly wondrous iterations.  

There’s always more than enough; we just have to see it that way.

I believe in the concept of a “calculated indulgence”  A seriously examined, deliberate shot of self-destructive action that serves to show how empty and unfulfilling that behavior is.  This is different than a mindless indulgence in that the whole time it is happening, you are reprogramming yourself—fully realizing that this addictive joy is only temporary, and while you can enjoy it from time to time, it need not be your constant captor; it can be relegated to being the occasional wild time with a friend.

Everyone is in love with great moments of triumph, but who is in love with the drudging labor that it took to get to those moments?  The training lies in loving the “drudgery.”  And once you’re properly trained, you need never work a day in your life again.

“Hedonic adaptation” is not a foregone conclusion; in other words, do not become blind to the profound and luminal truths that we are constantly exposed to.

IMHO, one of the highest purposes of the foreboding knowledge institutions that we revere is to simultaneously instill discipline/rebellion in us, so that we have the dogged persistence to create new paradigms that render those self-same institutions obsolete.

The proper view of the esoteric is not to use it as an excuse to shroud elitism in mystery/novelty, but to see it as a humble admittance that all may not be as it seems.

In the beginning, it is okay to assign blame to Ego/Satan/some nemesis/what have you, but after accepting the premise that all is interconnected, one has to eventually hold oneself accountable, stare in the mirror, accept fault, learn the lesson, and move on.  Anything lesser or harsher is a step back.

In the past, I’ve made my way by using both the blind energy of unexamined ideals as well as the comfortable inertia of cynical certainty.  Both states wallow in personal comfort.  

What is truly sublime is to recognize that ALL ideals are ultimately unprovable, and to still act with the rock-solid conviction of the unjaded zealot, all the while knowing Nothing.  That’s as uncomfortable—and as powerful—as it gets.

At a certain point, the artist must let go of the express purpose of using others’ work to lose him/herself and examine WHY that work is appealing.  That type of introspection reveals deeper principle behind what’s awe-inspiring; it allows the artist to bring forth that beauty in their own personalized iteration.  Now that may not be fun at first, but just wait.  The rush of other works’ beauty AND that of your own creation?

…..

To grab hold of an audience, let go of yourself.